Halloween Bitesize Treats: The Quiet Zone

As the cold hand of October starts to creep in, here’s your daily dose of bitesize horror to get you in the mood for Halloween. Today’s choice is this deeply unnerving little chiller from director Andrew Ionides with his efficiently made The Quiet Zone.

After a long day at work, a late-night commute home is rarely a stress-free experience. However, one young woman (Jessica Bayly) finds herself on a nearly empty train carriage, with a passenger who is showing no respect for sitting in the quiet zone. What starts as a harmless exchange of heated words, quickly takes a nightmarish turn for the worse. I say that, but I don’t know of anything that took a nightmarish turn for the better.

At some point, we’ve all encountered a loud passenger in a supposedly quiet carriage, and we’ve all wanted to say something. Maybe we’ve played out how we would shut them up, or even an elaborate murder that involves disguises and Weekend At Bernie’s type shenanigans. However, as fun as all those harmless daydreams might be, Andrew Ionides’ short is a stark reminder that saying nothing is often the best course of action in this situation.

Playing on a common fear we all encounter is a good shorthand to get the audience to relate to the main character. Who hasn’t been on a late-night train home, it took me weeks to feel comfortable going back on the tube after Creep. Economically shot, and wasting no time ramping up the tension. The Quiet Zone might sound like the Asylum’s direct to DVD mockbuster of A Quiet Place, but it’s a neat short film and well worth eight minutes of your time.